Four bedroom cap
The
draft bylaw proposes to limit the number of bedrooms in rental houses
to four, regardless of the size of the house. As well, at least 60 per
cent of the main floor must be common living space. But, there is no
limit on the number of tenants who can live in a rented home.
| Pros: | Cons:
|
the City says this rule reflects the intended use of most homes in the neighbourhood
the City says a bedroom cap will prevent overcrowding and safety issues neighbours say less bedrooms means less density of students, and possibly less noise, garbage and parking headaches
| with fewer people living in a house, students worry this will drive up the cost of rent landlords could lose income if they're forced to lower rent to make it viable for a smaller group of tenants fewer available bedrooms could leave students scrambling for accommodation next fall
|
"Why
are there two sets of rules A family in the same neighbourhood can have
basement bedrooms or more than four bedrooms, but renters can't. Why
are renters second class citizens in the City of Oshawa"Harold
Tomlinson, Landlord
"We
are trying to keep with the built form of these houses, they just
weren't intended to have seven or eight bedrooms."
Jerry Conlin,
Director of Municipal Law Enforcement and Licensing
"I
rent a whole house, not just a room and I question whether you can tell
me where I can sleep in my own house... you're not addressing
behaviour, which is the real problem. The number of bedrooms in a house
doesn't correlate to student's behaviour."
Lindsey Forkun, UOIT
student
Possible solution:
Student Association President Fraser McArthur suggests basing the number of permitted bedrooms on the square footage of a house
Ban on basement bedrooms:
The
draft bylaw says rental houses can't have bedrooms in the basement.
Specifically, no bedroom is allowed if it is "below the average
elevation of the finished surfacer of the ground, where it meets the
exterior of the building."
| Pros: | Cons: |
the
City says this is a health and safety issue that will guard against
substandard living conditions
- and ensure tenants have a viable fire
escape route
| many landlords have already renovated their properties to include
basement bedrooms. This was done legally and with the proper permits
and they feel they should have the right to use them students
and landlords say it's a matter of inequality, because homeowners in
the same neighbourhood can renovate their basements however they see fit
|
"I've seen basement bedrooms with really low
ceilings and no ventilation. We also want people to be able to get out
if there's a fire. Sometimes the windows are really small or there are
partitions on the way to the stairs."
Ward 7 Councillor John Neal
Possible solution: Landlords
would like to see the City allow basement bedrooms added up to this
point, as long as they are up to code and were completed with the
proper permits. Mayor John Gray said councillors will be considering
this option at next week's development services committee meeting.
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